Art is a means of communication through implicit, rather than explicit, symbolism and meant to appeal to the subconscious and intuition, rather than to the conscious and reason.

This communication can be conducted through any medium. The fun part about it: intent needn’t even be a factor; merely communication. So if the recipient of a manmade work reads in it something that was not consciously intended by its creator, that reading (presuming it’s genuine) is as legitimate an interpretation as any based upon a deliberate message. Perhaps more so.

As regards non-manmade works — a sunset, a rainbow, an orangutan; whatever natural beauty you might appreciate — that’s somewhat different in the sense that, provided you aren’t subscribing to a supernatural interpretation of artist (say, God), it truly is a one-sided conversation.

I suppose the act of receiving an artistic message would best be described as inspiration. One may be inspired by anything, of course; art is simply a manufactured way of appealing to that impulse.